A flinch, a loss, and other Rox news ‘n’ notes

Posted By
Jim Armstrong
On
August 26, 2011 @ 11:08 pm
In
Game Day |
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LOS ANGELES – Of course tonight’s game was the most important game of the Rockies’ season. When you’re in the position they’re in, every game is the most important one of the year.

The Rockies can’t afford to lose. Not a game here or there. They can’t afford to lose, period. But they lost tonight 6-1 to the Dodgeres to fall 10 games behind the Diamondbacks in the N.L. West.

Not that it was frustrating or anything, but they led 1-0 in the seventh inning and the tying run scored with two outs on, of all things, a balk.

Go ahead, ramp up the Balkin’ Bob Davidson jokes. As upset as the Rockies were by the call made by third-base umpire Davidson, a Denver-area resident, they admitted afterward that Esmil Rogers had indeed paused during his delivery.

“I flinched a little bit,’’ said Rogers. “I saw it in the video, too. Anybody is going to see I flinched. It’s not going to happen again.’’

“That’s a tough way to lose, I’ve got to tell you,’’ said Rockies manager Jim Tracy. “And yet, when I came in here and looked at the replay, it’s very, very close. … He saw the runner and paused for a brief second.’’

So much for the theatrics. The real reason the Rockies lost? They were on the road and they didn’t hit. They went into the game with 220 runs scored on the road, the fewest in the majors, and came away with only Carlos Gonzalez’s first-inning home run.

“We’re obviously trying to hold on,’’ said Tracy. “We didn’t do much offensively. We’re going to have to be perfect all the way through to get it done. Because the one run we got was the only one we were going to get.’’

More news ‘n’ notes from another day on the Rox beat:

• What would a Rockies-Dodgers game be without a home run by James Loney? Loney hit a two-run homer in the seventh, his seventh of the season and fifth vs. the Rockies. He’s 13-for-21 in his last five games to raise his average to .273 from .251 since Aug. 2.

• Loney isn’t the only Rockies killer on the Dodgers’ payroll. Ted Lilly is 8-13 _ 3-0 vs. the Rox, 5-13 against the rest of the league.

• Lost amid the calamity of the Dodgeres’ six-run seventh inning, when Rogers and Matt Reynolds were called for balks: Rogers pitched his finest game of the season. He had retired seven straight going into the seventh, striking out four of the previous five hitters.

“The kid pitched brilliantly,’’ said Tracy. “He was a couple of strikes away from being out of that inning and I personally felt he was going to do it, I really did. It’s a shame.’’

• Rogers’ tale of two seasons continued. He’s 5-2, 4.50 on the road, but 1-1, 9.77 at Coors Field, where he has allowed a .403 batting average.

• The game was delayed about 10 minutes after the umpiring crew was held up by a traffic fatality on the 110 freeway near Dodger Stadium.

• The balk on Reynolds was called by home-plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt, who promptly ejected Tracy for arguing. Said Tracy: “I don’t understand the second one. I didn’t understand that one at all. It was a simple throw-over’’ to first base.

• Dodgers broadcasting legend Vin Scully on why he decided to return for a 63rd season: “I don’t know what I would do, we’ll try it again God willing.’’ Scully has been in the Dodgers’ broadcasting booth since their days in Brooklyn.

• Lost in the shuffle in the calamity of the seventh inning: Dexter Fowler’s on-the-fly throw to Eliezere Alfonzo that cut down Andre Ethier at the plate. Ethier tried to score from third despite third-base coach Tim Wallach frantically putting on the stop sign.